Time After Time
by Serena Thorn
Summary: Written for VM Redux on LJ. What if someone else had shown up for Veronica at the Total Eclipse of the Heart dance?


Title: Time After Time  
Rating: PG-13  
Summary: Written for VM_Redux on LJ. What if someone else had shown up for Veronica at the dance?  
Spoilers: 1x15  
Word Count: 1499  
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars is not owned by me, but by Rob Thomas. I'm simply borrowing these characters for non-profit entertainment.  
A/N: Canon? I don't need your stinkin' canon! And while I still love Leo, my DoVe love knows no bounds.

* * *

Don knew he should have had one of his deputies take the call. But they were still out on the call that Keith had sent them on. He would have been there too but he was the sheriff, he could sit out this round. Russian mob from Chicago? No way.

Though he had to admit the last thing he expected to hear on the other end was a teenaged girl talking about Veronica. It took him a minute to realize this girl wasn't calling for him, but he couldn't deny the stab of jealousy he felt at the idea of Veronica and Deputy D'Amato. He still remembered when he had been Veronica's favorite deputy and while he would never admit it out loud, he missed those days.

Now granted going back to high school had never been high on his list of goals. He had done his time back at his own ten years ago, he was happy to leave it in the past from the day he had graduated. But then he thought about the likelihood of underage drinking and how he would probably be called in to deal with that or a fight or more pot or something so with that he cut out as soon as Sacks got back with some of the others.

**

Duncan had chosen Meg. Duncan had been Meg's secret admirer. And Veronica had helped them both just a moment ago by sliding the corsage Meg hadn't wanted to wear onto her wrist. She wanted Duncan to be happy, but that didn't mean she had to be happy that it wasn't with her.

She didn't want anyone to see her cry but the tears were already stinging her eyes as she bounded from the school and to her car.

_J. Geils was right. Love stinks. You can dress it up in sequins and shoulder pads but one way or another you're just gonna end up alone at the spring dance strapped into uncomfortable underwear,_ Veronica thought to herself as she sat crying in her car.

A moment later, just as she was about to compose herself well enough to drive, she was shaken from her troubled thoughts by a knock on her window.

Veronica could only make out the rolled up sleeve of the man's suit as she looked over but someone was clearly trying to get her attention. She couldn't conceal her surprise when she opened her car door and looked up, finding herself staring into the bluest eyes she knew.

_He cannot seriously be here to arrest me. Not that it'd be the first time he arrested me at school. Of course. Spiked punch. Why wouldn't I be the sheriff's main suspect?_ Veronica thought.

But then if he were there to arrest her why wasn't he in uniform? She knew he had an undying love of the '80s, but why was he dressed like he had just stepped out of a Miami Vice episode? In the seconds that it took her to climb out of her car it began to come back to her. Total Eclipse of the Heart, '80s themed spring dance, she was dressed as circa 1985 Madonna and now here Don Lamb was all Don Johnsoned out.

"Not exactly where I would've expected to find you, Veronica," he drawled as he watched her.

"Why are you here? Can't get through a week without arresting a likely innocent Neptune High student?" Why even part of her was relieved to see him, she didn't know.

He shrugged. "Didn't have anything else better to do."

"Then to crash a high school dance dressed like Debarge?" she smirked.

"At least you're not still crying in your car," he shot back. He had to admit there was a slight thrill in that for him. For once he had been the one to distract her from crying, not be the one to cause her tears. Almost felt like old times. Almost.

She hated it when the bastard was right. Luckily for her, she decided, it didn't happen that often. "So how many of us are you hoping to round up tonight?"

"No one actually," he sighed. "I'm here for you but not to arrest you."

"Then why?"

"I got a call tonight, from the sound of it you're in need of a date for this thing."

"And you're offering?" she asked with her eyes wide. This was her nemesis. He had just arrested her a couple of weeks ago, really seeming to get off on the idea of sending her to juvie. What the hell?

Lamb only smiled and held out his hand to her.

"Is this a trick? I'll take your hand and you'll slap the cuffs on me?"

"Only if you want me to," he grinned. Truthfully part of him did want her to ask, he knew he would never tire of having her in his cuffs. Seventeen or not she was a hot piece of ass and no matter how much she irritated or infuriated him, she was still a hot piece of ass that currently had him practically counting down the days to her eighteenth birthday.

She laughed. She couldn't believe this for a minute. Lamb was being a good guy? Offering to be her date for a school dance? She supposed she could do worse, at least he seemed sober and she could mostly prove Duncan's choosing Meg hadn't sent her home - like it would have had Lamb not shown up.

Meg smiled to Veronica when she saw her coming back into the auditorium. Though she couldn't help her confusion at the sight of her with the sheriff. It had been a deputy she had seen flirting with Veronica the night before. He was the one she had meant to talk to earlier. Why hadn't the sheriff said he wasn't Leo? Though as she watched them, seeing how Veronica was laughing as she led Lamb through the dancing couples, she guessed it didn't matter.

Truthfully Lamb couldn't believe it himself. Despite the hostility and anger and betrayal that there was no way of forgetting after just this one act of kindness, Veronica really seemed to be enjoying herself. With his focus on her he hadn't even realized he had been smiling himself, unable to stop himself from musing every so often when her eyes met his.

At least not until a distraction in the form of a loud and obviously drunken Risky Business impersonator appeared, screaming about everyone Wang Chunging tonight.

"I cannot escape Tom Cruise," Veronica groaned, unsure who was more surprised at the fact she had yet to let go of her former friend.

"Sheriff!" Logan cried with a smile. "Always a pleasure! Tell me, enjoying the jailbait selection tonight?"

"Logan," Veronica tried.

Lamb was already on the verge of getting Logan by his shirt collar as he mentally rattled off what he could arrest him for. Public intoxication, underage drinking, indecency… the list could go on. Of course he considered the fact Logan wasn't wearing pants to be a bonus. He could only imagine all the new friends the Echolls kid would make tonight.

And really he might not have arrested Logan that night except for Logan's half-sister not showing up before Veronica had found out it had been her mother who had been calling her for the past week.

He had even managed his first kiss with Veronica while Jr. Echolls was getting a second taste of whatever all he had drunk in the bathroom. Then she had run off once she figured out where her mother was, telling him she would see him the next day.

It was the only thing Don could think of to salvage what was left of his night. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten to take Veronica home and finish what she had amazingly enough started even if Logan hadn't shown up, but since he had he could at least go home with a smile at knowing the Echolls brat would be sleeping it off in a cell. Without pants. Yes, that was a bonus he would be enjoying for a while. And so what if he himself got written up for it? He was the sheriff and it was worth it.

As for Veronica, she tried to keep Lamb as far from her mind as she could while on the drive to find her mother but it was useless. He had kept her from having what would have been a miserable night and was hardly a slouch when it came to that kiss. At least she knew he was good at _something._ In retrospect she knew she should have known it would be that. Of course then she had to force the thoughts of what all else his mouth was capable of out of her head.

She couldn't deny it no matter how much she fought to, everything had changed now. Only time would tell as to if it was for better or worse.

The End


End file.
